


Cemetery Drive

by Gee_Wayspiritanimal



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Depression, Frerard, High School, M/M, Minor Character Death, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gee_Wayspiritanimal/pseuds/Gee_Wayspiritanimal
Summary: Frank works at a cemetery and sees a boy dressed in black that starts visiting every day.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 22
Kudos: 26





	1. Ruhi Cemetery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Frank Iero and Ray Toro, plus a few other recognizable names.

Frank Iero lives in New Jersey, with his parents Linda and Frank Sr., who live in a small house in a poor neighborhood. Frank always wanted to help out his parents with their income but that was hard in his younger years. So when he turned fifteen he took up a job at the local cemetery. It was four blocks from his house, so he didn’t mind the fact that his parents couldn’t give him a ride to work and he had to walk. Now he has been working there for two years and doesn’t mind it. He likes the fact that is quiet and quite beautiful, yes it is a sad place, but everybody dies it’s just a part of life. 

*******

School ends in two weeks, and man can I not wait. I hate school and the people inside, I have one friend Ray, but because I work a lot I don’t see him that often. He’s the only cool person I know in school, this town is so trashy. They were originally scared of hiring me at the cemetery because I was a young teenager and they have a problem with vandalism at the cemetery. However, I proved them wrong working there for a month with no mishaps of knucklehead kids running around on my watch.  


School ends in ten minutes and I already have a plan of what to do. I’m going to the store, I need deodorant and cereal, and a few more items. That’s what I like doing, to help out my parents, spending my money on things I need that I feel bad my parents have to buy. Like deodorant, it’s a necessity but it’s stupid. Every once in a while I buy some new clothes too, but my parents have always given my money to go and pick out my own shoes, so I still do that just without their money now. I can tell they appreciate it and that’s what makes me strive to keep doing small things like that, their stress levels have gone down considerably in the past two years. Since I pay for most of the groceries, my parents don’t have to worry about that inconvenience anymore, and now they know they can pay all the bills.  


I sit at my desk waiting for the bell to ring, glancing through my notes that I may need later on. I observe my pears and they are all slumped in their desks the same as me, a few up and asking the teacher questions about the lesson. I throw my books and notes in my backpack, waiting for the bell to ring. Kids start lining up at the door, and the teacher doesn’t say anything because he is too caught up in talking to the students at his desk. I get up and wait at the door and try to ignore, but still hearing my classmate’s conversations. Things that consist of the usual, “Did you hear about this person?” “They are going out?” “I have a date Friday night.” “Did you hear about that fight?”, just normal high school chatter. The only slightly unusual thing was Pete Wentz telling his friend that Mikey Way wasn’t in school today. Having known Pete a while is my guess something serious happened because Pete is always hanging around the tall, lanky kid, Mikey. Mikey never seems to miss a day of school, the only time I don’t see him is when there is a class field trip.  


The bell rings and kids rush out the doors, and I head to my locker to drop off a few books. When I get there I see Ray leaning against the lockers waiting on me. “Hey man,” I approach him.  
“Hey. Are you doing anything tomorrow? I wanted to know if you wanted to come over and play video games or watch movies or something.”  
“I have work from four to eight, but I could head over thereafter and stay the night if you want me to.”  
“Yeah sure sounds great then! I’ll tell my mom to make her veggie casserole then. She loves making it for you whenever you come over,” Ray grins.  
“She’s just the sweetest, I love that woman. Well, I gotta go, tell your mom thanks. See ya later Ray.”  
“Yup, later Frank!” 

Now to travel to the store and pick up the few items I need. The walk there is nothing special just kids jumping about happy the school day is over and going home. I see the sign for Z’s groceries and walk a little faster, and see Zach’s Deli across the street. I’ll probably grab a sub or something for later when I’m at work, their subs are the best in town. I walk in and see Josh who graduated last year working the register. He was always cool to me, him and his friend Tyler who is a senior, like me. I walk around looking through the isles to see if there is anything that looks interesting and I want to have. Nothing really seems necessary, but I grab a pack of mint gum and the deodorant and food I wanted to grab. I head to the register and make small talk with Josh, asking him how the graduated life is like and if he is excited that Tyler is graduating. He says he is because now he has some money to go to college, and he and Tyler start together at Columbus University next Fall.  


I make the short walk to Zach’s thinking about how it is awesome that Tyler and Josh are moving away and going away to college together but it also reminds me that I’m not going to college and I have to make up my mind about what I want to do with my life, and soon. Zach’s working the deli and greets me with a warm smile. “What will it be?”  
“Hmmm. Like always a veggie sub please.”  
“No problemo,” he winks. I watch him put all the vegetables on my sub and salivate at the sight of it. I thank Zach and pay him. And now with the excitement of the new workday and my sub, I head off Ruhi Cemetery. I have always loved the meaning of the cemetery, Ruhi is a female’s name meaning “a beautiful soul.” I like to think that the people eternally sleeping in the cemetery do have beautiful souls. I may think the town may be trashy but who am I to judge.  


As I approach the cemetery, I see Mr. Cole frantically running around. “Hello, Mr. Cole. What are you doing today?”  
“Oh, Frank! I’m glad you’re here! Today I’ve been digging a new hole, and I haven’t been able to fill out any paperwork do you mind doing it for me?” I groaned quietly. “Or you could always dig the hole for me,” he winked.  
“I think I’ll stick with the paperwork then!”  
“Ah, that’s what I thought. Haha, have fun kid.”  


Mr. Cole starting walking away and I headed to the Ruhi building, Mr. Cole starts running back. “Frank! Frank! I forgot to tell you!” he pants. “The funeral is tomorrow, take the day off. For the paperwork, the person is or was I guess, Elena Lee Rush. Papers are on the desk. Thanks again, Frank.”  


As I walk into the office I see the small stack of papers on the corner of the desk. The office is small but it’s homey and actually a nice place to sit. The colors are like nature, with light green walls and oak furniture and trimming. There are flowers everywhere and waterfall and forest paintings hanging on the walls. Even the bathrooms are a cute little place to do your business. The girl’s bathroom even has a couch!  
The papers on the desk have a file underneath labeled Rush. I grab the papers to start filling them out and then organize them the way we keep our files. The top of the paper states her name, Elena Lee Rush, underneath it states her late husband Authur Rush and her child Donna Rush-Way. She is to be buried next to Authur with separate gravestones in section 118. The gravestone will say In loving memory of - Elena (Helen) Lee Rush - August 8, 1952 - May 16, 2019 - So Long And Goodnight.  


I finish up the paperwork and start eating my sub when Mr. Cole walks in. “How’s the paperwork comin?” I gulp my bite down, “Just finished up sir.”  
“Great! Well, I think I’m gonna head out a lot to do tomorrow. Do you mind caring for sections 117-120? I didn’t get to those before the guys showed up.”  
“No problem, I’ve got it covered. Gavin is taking the shift after me right?”  
“Yeah he should be or else you’ll have to call in Bille, but I’m not sure he’ll want to come in tonight. He’s the one that called the guys for me,” he sighs. “Whelp sees you later Frank,” he waves goodbye.  


Mr. Cole is a great guy. He cares for everything, living and dead. He knows basically every story of every grave since he’s been working here. He knows where each person is and in what section, and even can tell you who they are related to. The hard thing he goes through is when young people come and disturb the dead’s peace. He got so angry when they came and painted over and broke some of the graves from the 1700s. I thought he was going to tear up the whole town.  
He deeply cares for the cemetery and knows how to deal with the relatives of the recently deceased. He may have shaggy blonde hair that has started turning gray and a thin body that sometimes looks sickly. Some turn away from him because of his homeless, slightly creepy appearance, but that’s what makes you appreciate him, even more, when you get to know him, or even start talking to him. Mr. Cole is kind, caring and humble which is what makes people love him even though his appearance may not be inviting.  


After I finish my sub, I approach section 117. The section isn’t too old, the graves range from the 1960s to the 1980s. It depends on the section and the dates because some sections are for families and others are from singles and married couples. If the couple bought plots next to one another, and one person passed before the other the plots would be put in the section when the first partner pasted. And then the workers would mark off the section to where the second partner would be buried, and that plot would be skipped until they passed away as well.  
I walk around the sections watering flowers and making sure the soil is packed tight still, picking up random leaves and branches, and weeding. Today I have to brush off the headstones in the area to make the area look especially nice for tomorrow’s funeral. They’ve already started digging up the hole, so I stay out of their way while they work and continue working. By the time I finish my shift is over and Gavin is there for the night shift. He just stays there to make sure kids don’t wreck the place.  


I grabbed my school bag and go out of the gates. Onwards to Ray’s, we haven’t spent time together outside of school in a while. I have work off tomorrow, so maybe I’ll go back over there if his family doesn’t mind. I could say we could go to my house, but his house is a lot nicer. Ray’s house has a decent sized yard, a porch, and a red-painted door, which looks nice against the white front siding. They have a swing on the porch which is one of the reasons I know it’s his house other than the bright red door. We have had many late-night deep talks on that swing.  
I knock on the Toro’s door and are greeted by Mrs. Toro. “Why hello Frank, long time no see,” she smiles. “Hello Mrs. Toro, how are you doing?” “Mighty fine Frank, thanks for asking. Come on in, Ray told me you were comin’ over and I just had to make my casserole! It’s almost finished actual! Why don’t you go see Ray until it’s done,” she winks and waves me away.  
“Thank you!” I reply walking down the hall. “What up dude,” I call out walking in Ray’s room. “Hey. I’m pretty sure you’re like my mom’s favorite person,” he laughs.  
“What can I say, the moms love me,” I shrug. “Yeah yeah, whatever. I was gonna start up Vampire Mania, wanna play?” “Of course!”  


Throughout the rest of the night we play Vampire Mania, and we ate Mrs. Toro’s yummy veggie casserole for dinner. We are sitting at the dinner table when I ask if I can come back tomorrow since I was given the day off. Mrs. Toro says I should spend the night, as long as it’s alright with my parents. So after dinner, I call them up, and they say it’s alright. Tomorrow is Thursday so we still have to go to school, but I’m excited to hang with Ray more than I thought I was going to. After getting approval from my parents the rest of the night consists of gaming, drinking carbonated drinks, and junk food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm looking for feedback and comments! I have an idea of how I want the story but I would like to see throughout the story what you guys think as well.


	2. Odd Young Man In All Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People watching

School is boring as always, and I’m ready to leave in the morning. Being a senior knowing school is so close to ending is more draining than the work they give. Focusing on the will to do the work is more draining than that though, either way, it’s draining. School is almost over though and then it’s off to Ray’s I go. 

When the bell rings I go to my locker and Ray meets me there, and it’s a short walk to his house. He grabs his keys out and unlocks the door, and we head inside. “So you know how there’s a funeral today, and that’s why you got the day off?” I nod. We go to the kitchen and he hands me a coke. “Apparently it’s Mikey Way’s grandmother. I was talking to Pete Wentz and I asked him where Mikey was and he told me that he was getting ready for her funeral and was heading over there to support him after school.” “Man, that’s terrible. I feel bad for him he seemed to always have something to say about her.” We frown and leave for the living room. The blue couch matches the depressing mood. “Now that I think about it I overheard Pete saying something to someone about Mikey not being at school yesterday. It must have been his mothers' mom that passed though because the women that I filled out paperwork for yesterday's name was Elena Rush.” “Either way what a sad time.” After that, we don’t talk about it again. Ray turns on the tv and we start watching Supernatural reruns. It’s probably like season two because Sam still has his shaggy hair, but I know it’s not season one because I’ve rewatched that season so many times, I have every episode down. We don’t do much except watch TV and talk about school, and some other odd things. 

Ray’s mom comes home and tells us she gonna make tacos for dinner, but for me, she is going to make a mean salad. I laugh and thank her. After that, I follow Ray back to his bedroom where we talk about some of the kids at school and kids who went to our school, and how they all seemed so cool until we got older ourselves and realized they are just people too. Some of those people are nobodies now, still living with their parents, some dropped out of college and say they are looking for a job when in reality they aren’t even going to look for one. 

“I wish I could meet someone that went to our school that nobody really paid attention to, you know? Like someone who is gonna make it big, and then one day when I’m looking in the yearbook I’m thinking ‘Oh my God! I went to school with this person!’ Like how crazy would that be,” I ramble on thinking out loud. Thinking about leaving school and how I don’t really talk to anyone has got me thinking about things like that. It feels good to tell someone about it now, even if Ray might not understand. “That would be crazy, but who knows it may happen,” he shrugs. “Wanna play Vampire Mania again? Or do you want to play something else?” We play video games for the rest of the night, except when Mrs. Toro calls us down for dinner, and I have to leave to go home. 

******* 

Saturday is actually one of my favorite days, I’m not sure why people like Friday’s so much. They always say it’s because it’s the day before the weekend, but then why isn’t a weekend their favorite day? On Friday you still have to go to work or school, it has never made sense to me, but whatever. It’s Saturday though, which means I have my longest shift of the week. I don’t mind it, actually, I quite enjoy it. Saturday is the day that Mr. Cole takes off; he started taking it off when they hired me. Considering he worked a shift every day before, I don’t think anyone minds that he takes Saturday off. He’s the boss and he writes the schedule, so I don’t think there is any room to complain. 

The thing that makes me look forward to every day is always food, and today for lunch I brought a bean burrito. I heat it in the microwave and sit outside on the bench. Part of my job is kind of to people watch, but lunchtime is my favorite time to people watch. I think it always has been, especially if you are eating alone. There is always the occasional visitor, some visit more than others. It’s funny after working here for a few years you notice people’s routines. Some people visit on the person’s death date, some on their birthday, some on both. Some people visit when they are in town, some visit every month, or try to at least. Kenny visits his late wife, Marge, every Tuesday, he brings her flowers every two weeks and talks to her for about twenty to thirty minutes and then leaves, with an ‘until next Tuesday.’ I asked him why he always visits on Tuesday instead of a different day and he told me it’s because they got engaged and married on a Tuesday. My heart clutched for him and I told him to have a good week and see him next Tuesday. 

Today is Saturday like I said though, so there is no Kenny, but there is a woman with some flowers in section 119, so a recently passed person, and what appears to be a young man wearing all black, sitting on the ground. He is in section 118, where I believe the freshly dug grave is. He looks like he is trying to make himself small. I wonder if it’s Mikey Way, but Mikey is too lanky to be that person. I’m not sure who it is, but I’m too invested in my burrito at the moment to figure it out. Plus I would never interrupt a person’s moment, for my own personal reasons. 

The guy is there for a couple more hours, and then he drifts away. I still have two more hours of my shift when he leaves, but watching him was very interesting. He talked for a long time and then all of a sudden he would go completely silent and then he would start talking again. I think about the odd young man as I start to water some of the flowers. 

***** 

Sunday appears and disappears, the same as the odd young man does. He’s there for about an hour, just sitting there. He didn’t talk today, just kind of stared off somewhere in the distance. Only when he was just about to leave did he look at the gravestone. He seems to be overcome with grief. Sadder than anyone I’ve ever seen before that has walked into the cemetery. And that’s just what I can see from a distance. I’m starting to become afraid of what I might see if I stand closer. For the stranger's sake, I hope he overcomes grief before it takes over him. Hamlet is not a play I want to see appear before my own eyes; especially when it comes to the odd young man.


	3. Hunger Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank talks to Pete and later experiences hunger pains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters have been posted today! Yay! Story advancement!

Going to school is always a pain on Monday, nobody likes Monday. When you like about it though if we didn’t have to go to work and school on Monday, then Tuesday would be the problem and everyone would hate Tuesday. My point is, getting out of bed is hard.  


Ray meets up with me and my locker when I show up to school, complaining about how his mom told him he didn’t want him to eat cereal that morning and how he should make himself an egg instead.  
“Wow, how dare she.”  
“I know right! Like I had the time to make myself an actual breakfast.”  
“Hey did you hear anything else about Mikey Way?”  
“Nah man, but if your that interested in any news about him, I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”  
“Thanks, dude. Do you know if he’s got anybody close to him other than Pete?”  
“Nah not that I know of. I only really talk to him though, when I’m talking to Pete.”  
“Ah, well, thanks, I’m headed to class.” We go our separate ways until lunch as always.  


Today Ray brings Pete along with him. They sit down at the table and Ray says, “He was lonely without his little puppy, so I brought him over here,” Pete goes to object when Ray adds, “Now’s a good time to ask questions about his little puppy though.”  
“What questions, Iero?” he says with a threatening tone.  
“Nothing bad Wentz, just wanted to know how he was holding up.”  
“He’s doing pretty bad, his whole family is totally torn up. I think out of all of them, though his dad his doing the best then Mikey. Gerard hasn’t left the house I don’t think. Mikey said he’s doing the worst.”  
“Who’s Gerard,” Ray and I ask.  
“Oh, that’s Mikey’s brother.”  
“Mikey has a brother,” we practically shout.  
“Yes,” he drags out, “he graduated three years ago.” Ray and I look at one another amazed. “Wow that’s crazy,” Ray says. I sit back deep in thought about the odd young man wearing all black that has shown up to the cemetery. Gerard. Wow, a name to the mystery man.  


My thoughts are interrupted by Pete stating, “Yeah but he’s always been kind of a downer. It’s really sad though because we thought their grandma was finally about to break him out of his shell.” Pete looks down sadly and goes deep in thought, and soon I do too. 

******* 

I’m exuberant to go to the cemetery today, now that I can put a name to the face of the odd young man in all black. My thoughts start racing and I can’t control them ‘I wonder if he will be there when I get there. I wonder if he will be there at all. I wonder when he will show up. How long is he gonna stay? How long is he going to keep coming every day?’ Finally, I am able to control my thoughts and then I start to think about why I care? I have never talked to him, I haven’t even really been able to see his face, so _why_ am I infatuated with him?  
Since I first saw him, he is almost all I’ve been thinking about. Other than my time with Ray, I have thought about Gerard. His name is different than everyone I know. The people I know, their names are common, like Ray or Linda, even Mikey, and Pete.  
The odd young man in all black shows up a little after I start my shift, and he is as well the day after that and the day after that. I undoubtedly want to know more things about him. He just seems so sad, usually, people show up the cemetery for a week and then come every other day and then at some point they stop. But not him, he's been coming everyday for over a week, almost two weeks now. 

A few days later, I am sitting doing homework when he walks in. Today is different though, he is later than normal and he brought a notebook it looks like. He sitting there writing or drawing for about an hour then he gets up, looks at the grave, puts his hand to his lips and then the grave, and leaves. 

After seeing Gerard with the notebook, I see Pete in school a few days after and ask him if Mikey's brother likes writing or drawing or something. Pete tells me he likes to draw, and usually, it's gory or something comic book-like. I think about what type of art he does and how his style might be. Every person has a different style, what is his? Comic book-like art has me thinking that must be his style, but even in comic books, there are so many types of styles. Also what kind of comics does he like? I like comics, I wonder if we have the same taste. All questions I hope to find out one day. Maybe one day I'll actually talk to him instead of creepily staring at him across the cemetery. 

******* 

The next day, I am so deep in thought on the walk to Ruhi, that I didn’t think about that I didn’t pack dinner and just walked past all the place that I could buy food. When I start my shift and say farewell to Mr. Cole that I realize my mistake. I call up my mom but there is no answer, I call Ray no answer, and then I remember that he’s at a study group and then they are going to the movies right after. I sigh and mope on the bench, I gaze up at the trees swaying in the wind, doing a dance only they know. I sit there for a while just enjoying nature when he walks through the gates. He swapped his plain black hoodie for a black sweatshirt, with the iconic Metallica logo on the front of it. That makes me like him a little more even though, other than his name, that’s the only thing I know about him. 

I sit there watching him and looking at the landscape for what seems like a long time. My stomach rumbles and I just roll my eyes, because of course how could I be so stupid. A few minutes later though is when I know I have to eat something soon. My stomach makes a weird noise that sounds like a demon is trying to crawl out and the sharp pain of hunger is nothing to laugh about. I gasp and bite my lip from screaming. I look at the odd young man and think desperate times come for desperate measures. 

I walk over to him practically limping my way there. He glances over a few times as I approach him, and then he tries to ignore me. I get about five yards away and say “Uh, hello.” Really Frank, really? 'Uh, hello?' You've been wanting to talk to him for a while now and all you have is 'uh, hello'!?  
He looks up at me and quietly says “Hi.” And oh my, he is beautiful. His eyes and nose are red and swollen, his hair unwashed and tangled, but wow he is beautiful.  
“I really, really, don’t mean to bother you, but would you do me a huge favor?”  
“Uhh.”  
“Okay let me explain first,” I groan as a pain appears. “I forgot to bring my dinner and currently feel like a demon is trying to crawl out of my stomach because I’m so hungry. I cannot leave because I work here and I’m on shift, but do you mind getting me food? I feel so bad, because here you are trying to have a moment with your loved one and I’m ruining it, but I need help. I’ve made many phone calls to people and no one is answering…” I am quickly rambling when he cuts me off.  
“Umm yeah I’ll help you then.”  
“Really?”  
”Yeah I don’t see anyone else here who can help you.” We both look around, and he gives a breathy laugh. “I don’t think anyone here other than me could help you at least.” I laugh, not bad for a guy grieving.  
“What do you want to eat? It’s on me. Please,” I tell him.  
He shrugs, “Um how about Zach’s Deli it’s kinda close and I haven’t been there in a while.”  
“Rad, I love it there!” We talk about Zach and then what we both get. I enjoy the conversation a great deal and am sad when he gets up to leave. “I hope you don’t take my money and run, and that’s not just because I’m hungry, or that you took my money, but because I enjoy talking to you,” I give him a small smile.  
“Same over here,” and with that, he leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now would probably be a good time to mention that I don't know much about cemeteries. Winging things is kinda my thing though XD


	4. Keep It To Myself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's just something about him. This chapter switches to Gerard's POV as well.

Gerard appears through the gates with a plastic bag in hand and I turn to meet up with him.  
“Well thank god you came back, I’m starving!” He gives smile and I ask, “Where would you like to eat? We can eat in the office, at the picnic table over in section 108 or we can go back to the grave and eat.”  
“Um, do you mind if we go back by the grave?”  
“Not at all. That’s why I asked,” I wink at him and he bashfully turns away. 

We sit down on the ground and pull on our subs. “Aw, you got cookies and drinks too! Thank you.”  
“Yeah no problem. Um, so on my walk there I realized I don’t know your name…”  
“Oh! Right, I’m Frank. Nice to meet you, and you are?”  
He smiles at me and I smirk back. “Gerard.”  
“So Gerard, I see you like rock bands.” And with that, we eat and talk about music we like, our favorite bands, their logos, and album covers, music videos, and anything music-related you can think of. We sit there for two hours talking, and it’s almost dark when I realize my shift is almost over. “Oh wow, the time just flew by,” I say surprised.  
“Time flies when you’re having fun.”  
“So you had fun?”  
“I-I- uh”  
“Well I know I did, so thank you. I’m glad my forgetfulness and stomach brought us together.”  
“Yeah me too.” We gaze at one another for a while when he says he should probably go home now.  
”Yeah, yeah. Um, have a goodnight then.”  
“You too Frank.” And with that, he leaves, and I pick up our trash and head in the office to wait for Billie. 

******** 

The next day at lunch Ray brings Pete, Mikey, and Tyler to sit with us at our table. They sit down and I listen to the conversation they are having intently. “I tell you, man, something was up with Gee yesterday. He came home and didn’t look as depressed as normal. For one wow! For two that’s huge because he went out of the house. None of us even knew he left, but it was dark when he came in. We were so surprised to see him come through the door and I think we were all surprised that he wasn’t intoxicated. Which is what makes it weird that he seemed better than normal.”  
“I’m not sure dude, but maybe you should be more happy for him instead of so worried all the time.” Pete knows Mikey pretty well and this seems like something that he’s repeated time and time again.  
“I know I should be, but it’s hard not to worry. I just don’t want to lose him too.”  
Pete starts rubbing Mikey’s back and says, “I know, I know.” 

The rest of lunch goes by and we have fun, light conversations to try and lighten the mood from the previous conversation. Throughout the lunch, I say nothing of my interaction with Gerard. I have never said anything to any of them about him, other than asking Pete a few questions. If Gerard tells Mikey about our interaction then I’ll spill to them, but for now, the beautiful man is just in my thoughts. 

*!*!*!*!*!*!*! 

**Gerard’s POV**

I leave the cemetery after spending hours with Frank. After Helena’s funeral, I haven’t felt any happiness, my only sense of anything close to contentment is going to visit her grave. Frank, however, has lightened my mood. Even though we only talked about music I feel as if I finally have found someone who understands me the way Helena did. Frank is like a bright star that is didn’t notice until now. There are so many questions I want to ask him but there wasn’t enough time. 

I start questioning going back to the cemetery every day because I’m slightly afraid to go back and speak to Frank. Knowing that the cemetery has been the only thing keeping me alive makes me rethink that. I love my family, but I see how they look at me now. Looks full of pity and fright, also afraid to say the wrong thing to trigger my depression further. It’s even worse since Helena’s death. Now they just tiptoe around me and leave me to stay in my room other than telling me when to come eat on the occasion. 

Frank though, he knows I’m sad. He works there and I’ve been showing up every day and he probably knows that. He can probably tell how important she was and is to me. She always will be, but now I feel empty. That was until Frank entered the picture. I hope he didn’t just need someone to give him food, and then will ignore me the next time he spots me. He’s special to me now, I don’t think I’m going to tell anyone about him for a while. 

I approach my house and open the door. My parents and brother, Mikey, are sitting in the living room. When I walk through the door, their faces are in complete shock. I go to walk past when I hear, “Hello, I didn’t know you were out,” my father says.  
“Yeah,” I go to walk away.  
“Are you alright? Did you eat?”  
I turn around and sigh, “Yeah Mom, thanks. I’m alright.”  
“Okay sweetie. I love you.”  
“Love you too Mom.” 

I go downstairs to my room, or as Mikey and I like to call it ‘The Dungeon.’ I look around at my messy room, and pick up a few clothes and put them in the hamper. I go to my pile of comic books deciding whether I want to read Batman or Doom Patrol, so I grab both. I shed my black jeans for sweatpants and then crawl under my sheets. There are a few pencils in my bed, so I move them to the nightstand with my sketchbook. I start reading Batman but my thoughts drift to Frank. His eyes, and his smile, his laugh and his voice. Everything about him is breathtaking.  
I decide tomorrow I will go to the cemetery and visit Helena and Frank. Mixed in the thoughts of Frank, I slowly drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys think I should go more in detail about their relationship, or keep the story moving along? Thoughts are deeply appreciated.


	5. A Great Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete has 'a great idea.'

I wake up for school with a smile on my face. I had a wonderful dream about Gerard. In the dream, we talked for hours and then had a cliche carnival date. He even won a giant panda for me and we had a long conversation about how people call them panda bears and they aren’t even classified as a bear. 

School kinda drowns my happy mood, but the thought of going to Ruhi and seeing Gerard makes me feel better. I work from four to eight today and I did not forget my dinner this time. I packed a bean burrito along with chips and salsa, take that stomach. I even brought a little extra, so I could offer some to Gerard. He’s awful pretty, but some thing’s telling me he doesn’t take care of himself. Maybe that’s because of what I’ve overheard from Mikey or the fact that he looks like he hasn’t taken a shower in days. I understand that grief can change you, but a person should still take care of themselves. I care about Gerard, a lot more than I should so soon, and I can’t let him fade away without trying to help him first. 

School went by slow and the only interesting thing about today was when Pete shoved blueberries in his nose. I am enlivened by the thought of seeing Gerard. I wonder what we will talk about. What if other than music we have nothing in common? I hope we have more things in common, please Lord let us have more things in common.  
I reach the gates, and I can’t help but scope out the place to see if Gerard is already there. Sadly he is not, but that gives me time to check-in and water and clean the older sections before he shows up at his routine time. I am able to get all of that down and a tiny bit more before he shows up. He walks through the gates and goes straight for the grave. I wonder if he saw me? Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to me. I’d be extremely upset if he didn’t, but this is a cemetery and he has been coming here every day and it hasn’t been for me. I need to respect him and his grieving process. 

I sit on the bench outside the office, acting like I’m not staring at Gerard. About twenty minutes after he arrived he comes over to see me. I greet him with a small and a hello.  
“Hey.”  
“I’m glad you came over here, I was going to be sad if yesterday was one time kinda thing.”  
“Oh yeah?”  
“Yeah.” We both study one another, smiling and not sure about what to do next. “I um, don’t work tomorrow, so don’t be worried that I’m ignoring you if you come looking for me. I would never intentionally ignore you.”  
“Well that’s good to know,” he smiles bigger than I have ever seen before. “So, the cemetery huh? Do you like working here?”  
“Yeah actually. It’s pretty great. It has lots of benefits, like not having to deal with living people. You always hear horror stories about people working in customer service, and I don’t have any of those.”  
“That’s true, I worked at Toys R Us for two days and then quit. People are terrible.”  
“Most are, but not all,” I wink at him, and he blushes and turns away.  
Awkwardly Gerard says, “Sooooo.”  
“Sooooo,” I reply.  
“Is the cemetery going to be our place?”  
“Oh so we have a place?” I say suggestively  
“That’s not what I meant! I mean it is, but I meant is this where we will talk and hang out.”  
Well you seem to come at the time I work, so as long as you want to talk to me I guess it is.”  
He grins and says, “Well good because I think I like talking to you.”  
“I enjoy talking to you too.” 

******** 

The next day at lunch is weird. Pete is having one of his ‘great’ ideas and is making everyone at the table question his sanity.  
“Okay at least let me go get my nose pierced then,” Pete sighs.  
Mikey sighs as well and says, “That’s probably the best idea he’s had.”  
“To be fair, even I want a nose ring,” I tell them.  
“Great!” Pete squeals, “We will go get them together! I’ll book our appointments!” Then he runs off.  
I slap my forehead, and harder than I meant it to be. “What did I get myself into?”  
“You made a big mistake mentioning that, he really wanted to do something crazy today. You were a perfect target.” Mikey tells me.  
“Yeah I know, but who knows, maybe this will be cool,” I shrug.  
“For your sake, I hope so,” he shakes his head and turns away saying something about going to find Pete. 

Throughout the rest of the day I’m shaking in anticipation, I’m actually excited to go get my nose pierced. However, I didn’t expect to do so, so soon. The fact that I couldn’t research anywhere and get mentally prepared is what worries me the most. It’s not the fact that I don’t trust Pete to find a decent place either, it’s that I know he tends to rush into his ‘great ideas’ and doesn’t always think them through. 

When school only has two minutes left I try to calm myself and stop shaking. I’m meeting up with Pete, Mikey, and Ray right after class at Mikey’s locker, so we could head to the tattoo and piercing shop. Mikey text me then plan last period and that’s when my shakes got the worst. But like I said, it’s not that I’m not excited, I am. And I’m not scared about the pain, or anything like that. I’m nervous to see what the place looks like before I waltz in there, and then they give me a disease, infection, or leave unwanted scars. 

The bell rings and I race to my locker to put my books away, so I can reach the group at a decent time. When I get to them they are standing there waiting on me.  
“Took you long enough. Are you excited?” Pete asks.  
“You lockers are right next to one another. And yes, a little nervous though.”  
“Ah you’ll be fine, especially after when you see how sick we are gonna look! These guys are gonna be so jealous they are gonna wanna get one.”  
“I doubt it,” Ray and Mikey say simultaneously.  
“Well I highly doubt that,” Pete sticks out his tongue. “Let’s go!” 

The piercing and tattoo shop isn’t that bad, it’s actually pretty rad looking. I guess Pete did do a decent job of finding a place. I feel a lot less nervous now that I’m looking at the place, which is weird because normally people would feel more nervous in this situation.  
The lady working the desk comes to the waiting area and says, “Okay, who is Pete?”  
“That would be me.” Pete looks like a kid in a candy show. He is all giddy and practically bouncing out of his chair, and he has the biggest smile on his face.  
“Okay then, your next and then it’s Frank. You guys can head on back now if you would like.”  
“Great,” Pete says. 

The lady brings us to the back where a man, with a tattoo sleeve of fire and demons, is cleaning his piercing tools. He tells us that it should only take him a few minutes to get prepped and that Pete could sit in the chair. The shop looks cool in the back. It’s got a classic car theme, the benches to wait are old car benches, and the seats to get tattooed, look like are seats. There are pictures of classic cars on the walls, and photos of artist tattoos they have done. As I’m waiting I get up to look at the tattoo photos on the walls. Some of the pieces are incredible, each artist having a different style they prefer. I’ve always wanted a tattoo and planned on getting one the day after my eighteenth birthday. I only say the day after because my birthday is Halloween and I want to go out that night and enjoy the holiday as well. 

“Mikey, Mikey. Mikey! Come hold my hand.”  
“Are you ready Pete?”  
“Whelp, now or never.” The tattooed man holds the needle up to Pete’s nose and then the next thing I hear is an “ouch” come from Pete. The man grabs a wipe and starts cleaning Pete’s nose, and then he pulls away saying, “All done,” and he claps his hands. “Let me wipe this down and Frank is next.”  
“Well that wasn’t bad at all. I’m more excited now than I was before!” Pete exclaims.  
“That’s good Pete. Now, Frank, do you need me to hold your hand too?”  
“Um no thanks, I think I’m alright Mikey.”  
“Just making sure,” he blows a kiss and we all laugh. 

The man is ready a minute later. He draws the dot on my nose asking if I am okay with the placement, which I am, and then he asks me if I’m ready. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I tell him. He holds the needle up to my nose and I soon feel a sharp pinch. He pulls the needle away, wipes my nose, and slides a ring into the hole. “Look at you guys, you look sick,” he tells us cleaning as we are checking ourselves out in the mirror. Then he tells us how to care for the piercing and what to do in case of infection, so we listen closely.  
First, look in the mirror, I do have to admit I look pretty sick. I’m glad I decided to go through with this instead of backing out. I keep looking in the mirror at myself, I poke at the ring and it throbs a little. “Well, I have to admit Pete we look rad.”  
“See! Another great idea in the bag,” he grins. We all groan and soon leave after paying the kind tattooed man. 

“I’m starving. You guys wanna get something to eat?” Ray asks.  
“Hell yeah, Toro! Let’s go!” Pete runs off down the street to God knows where. He definitely is one for excitement, well for us it’s more like entertainment.


	6. Movie Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard sees Frank's piercing and then Frank and his friends go to the movies and mall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short!

I wake up in the morning excited for the day because I get to see Gerard, which yes I had another dream about. Am I embarrassed, no. Well maybe a little, but he has been on my mind a lot, so I’m not surprised he is in my dreams as well. Oh my gosh! I didn’t even think about what Gerard would think of my piercing. I wonder if he will notice. I wonder if he will say anything. Oh, I hope he likes it and doesn’t shun me. Mikey didn’t so hopefully Gerard won’t either. I know they are different people, but most people judge others on things like that because their parents force that thought into their heads. 

Up until lunch at school I worry about Gerard’s reaction. Lunch with my weird friend distracts me from the thought of my new piercing. The presentation I had after lunch, that I forgot was today, was also a big help as a distraction. I stop at the store on my to the cemetery for some food for dinner and some snacks to help in the office for later. After my shopping, I go to the cemetery, with a small skip in my step because I will be seeing Gerard.  
I honestly hope we become great friends, but I’m also not sure if I want my fascination with him to come to an end. I want to know him enough to satisfy my wonders about him, but I also like the mystery of him. I also don’t know if I want him on my mind all the time like he has been. There are very few hours of the day I am not thinking about him. It gets a little annoying but it’s nicer than anything. Like he could be ugly or have a terrible personality, but he doesn’t and that’s an amazing thing. 

Gerard shows up about an hour after I get to the cemetery, which is about normal for him. Like always he goes to visit his grandmother first. The time he spends with his grandmother varies every day. That never seems to have a set schedule. 

Gerard walks up and I greet him with a small wave and a hello. He gets closer and I swear I could get lost in his eyes. I’m so focused on his eyes, that I don’t see the shocked expression on his face.  
“Uh, hey.”  
“What’s wrong?”  
“You didn’t tell me you were getting a nose ring,” he smirks.  
“Oh,” I drag out. “That. Right. Yeah, I’ve always wanted one and Pete kinda roped me into going with him.”  
“Ah, so Pete has one too, I assume.”  
“Yes. I must say though, we look pretty cool.”  
“Whatever you say, Frankie.” He called me Frankie. He soon realizes his slip and suddenly looks panicked, but only for a moment.  
“So Gerard, I hear you are an artist.”  
“Yeah, kinda. I like to draw and stuff. Mostly comic books and things like that.”  
“That’s so cool! I would love to see some of your work, but only if you want me to. I would never want to intrude.  
“Usually I mind showing people my work, but with you, I don’t really seem to have a problem with it.”  
“Well then, I feel special,” I wink.  
“That’s because you are.” He gives me a small shove and we stroll to his grandmother’s plot. We talked for about an hour about his artwork and our passions. Mine being music, even though I haven’t had the time to pursue it. Gerard says he believes in me and knows I will do great things. He told me I have the soul and heart for it, however, I’m not sure what he meant by that. Those words could mean a lot of things, but where is the meaning coming from? 

“I’d say we should hang out sometime, but this seems to be our thing.” He says fondly.  
“I don’t mind this. It gives me someone to talk to at work and I have something special with you. I- I mean, like I don’t do this with anyone else. You know what I mean?  
“Yes, I do. It’s not often you find a friend to talk to at the cemetery that talks back,” he grins and we both laugh. “Well I should probably get headed back home, so my family doesn’t worry.”  
“Uh, yeah. Um, I guess I’ll see you later then.”  
He smiles and says, “I really like your piercing. Bye Frank.” And then he walks off. 

****** 

A couple of days later on my day off, which just happens to be Friday, our group decides to go to the mall and the movies. The order of that, however, we argue about at lunch. Mikey says we should go to the four-thirty show so that it will count as a matinee and will be cheaper. Pete says we should go to the eight-thirty show because movies at night are always better. Both Ray and I try and stay out of it. Tyler comes to our table because his normal table is taken by a bunch of freshmen, and Pete invites him to go out to the movies as well. Tyler is exciting says yes, and then is frightened by Mikey and Pete demanding him to tell them which movie we should go to. They both tell Tyler their reasons and he tells them that he is trying to save money for college, so he would prefer to go to the matinee. “Yay! The matinee it is!” Mikey cheers and Pete pouts for the last ten minutes of lunch. 

When school ends walk to the connected mall and movie theater. They get there at three-fifty, so they decide to go into Hot Topic to see if they have anything new that they are in dire need to have. Pete buys a new lip ring for the future, since we have yet to change ours, and Mikey buys a Green Day hoodie.  
After we go back to the movie theater to buy our tickets and concessions. We actually like going early enough to watch the previews. Whether that be to see what movies to look forward to, or to make fun of, we still enjoy watching them. We decided on seeing an action-comedy and it actually wasn’t too bad. Some of the jokes were cheesy, but Pete made them even better, and that is why we take him to the movies with us. Sometimes, however, we want to throw him out of the theater, security actually did once.  
We leave the movie theater and stroll through the mall talking about our favorite parts of the movie. When we get to the center area and Pete gets animated talking about his favorite action scene. He is hopping up and down, waving his arms everywhere and making explosion noises. We all notice that he is attracting the attention of others, especially a particular group of girls, who are covering their mouths looking and whispering about us. As Pete continues, one of the girls starts mocking him and that’s when I decide to bring Pete’s observers to his attention.  
“Why do I care about their stares? Am I embarrassing you guys?”  
Mikey laughs, “I’m used to this by now, so that’s a no from me.”  
“No Pete, you’re not embarrassing us. I just thought you should be aware, especially since those girls are mocking you.”  
“What do I care, they can judge all they want. I don’t need to impress them. Especially since I’m not interested in girls, I’m gay, ” he shrugs.  
“Pete you’re gay?!” We all say simultaneously.  
“Yeah, I thought it was obvious.”  
“No!”  
“Well let’s see: I’ve never talked about a girl before and I have girls falling all over me, I only hang out with guys, my close friends are gay, and I have a nose piercing.”  
“Just because you have a nose piercing doesn’t make you gay,” I state.  
“Then why do you have one?” Pete retorts.  
“Touche.” 

We move on past the Pete being gay, and we all pride him with being part of our little family since we know that we all have something more in common. Tyler, Pete and I are gay, while Mikey is bisexual, Ray is the only straight one, or so he tells us. Either way, we are enthusiastic about our new-found knowledge. We window shop and walk around goofing off, and we buy Pete ice cream for coming out, even though he thought we knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I start posting slower. This week has not been good at all. My car got hit, lucky I wasn't in it, but it was a hit and run and they totaled it :( So now I'm trying to find a new car. And my schedule is getting busier, what a bad time!  
> However, the story must go on! More chapters to come!


	7. Pete's Get-Together

It’s Saturday, my long workday, and Mr. Cole stays later to chat with me. He stays about an hour later and sees Gerard appear to which he points out to me. Gerard is remarkably earlier than normal. I wonder why that is. Mr. Cole doesn’t stay for too much longer, he grabs his belongings from inside the office and I stay outside to observe Gerard.   
Like always he is sitting beside his grandmother’s grave, but instead of focusing on his grandmother he is staring at me. I give him a small wave and he replicates. Mr. Cole soon walks out, says his goodbyes and then heads off. I walk over to Gerard and he watches me approach.   
“You’re earlier than normal.”   
He shrugs and says, “Well you told me it was your long shift, so I figured I would keep you company.”   
“Why thank you, I enjoy your company.”   
After a while of silence I sit down and then Gerard asks, “Who was the older guy you were talking to.”   
“That’s Mr. Cole, he hired me and uns this whole place. He is quite an amazing man.”   
“Wow, why’s that?”   
“He knows the history about every grave here, he knows about their family and their past, he even saw you and recognized you, he saw you before I did actually.”   
“So he knows about Elena?”   
“Yes he didn’t tell me anything about you, he told me to ask you yourself since you come here often. When he is here on my days off he sees you.”   
“Oh. I see.” Gerard stares off for a while and then says, “Tell me more about this place.”   
“Well, do you know the meaning of Ruhi?” he shakes his head. “Ruhi means ‘one with a beautiful soul’. We allow most people in the cemetery, but we actually have a rule that if you have committed a serious crime you cannot be buried in this cemetery.”   
“Really?” He says surprised.   
“Yup. We want to keep true to the meaning of Ruhi. Everyone who wants to put their parent or spouse here is told this, in case they want to be buried with their family. If a member of a family has committed a serious crime and they want to bury their family together we tell them that they should probably find another cemetery. It doesn’t happen very often but apparently it has happened four times in the past six years. I’ve only seen it once while working here, but that’s because the lady made a big deal about it.   
“Mr. Cole fixes everything around the cemetery and works on its appearance like the rest of us working here. But what people don’t always see is that he helps people who are in the grieving process. He helps people so often it’s insane. I’ve seen it so many times before, they walk in crying and Mr. Cole gives them his magic touch and words and they feel more… more at peace afterward. I am glad to have worked with him and to have gotten so close with him.”   
“That is amazing.”   
“Indeed it is.” 

We don’t talk much about the cemetery after that, we leave that in the past and move on to lighter conversations like the odd puppet shows that our one elementary school teacher would show. I honestly forgot how we got on the topic, but the memories are both fond and horrifying. I brought a small salad for lunch, but instead, Gerard decides he is going to go and get us both lunch. He didn’t tell me what he was bringing back, but I was very surprised and happy when he carried in a veggie pizza. We both split my salad afterward and laughed when he stabbed a grape tomato and it flew and hit his forehead.   
He left about an hour after lunch, and we talked about our lives and what we hoped for our futures. I learned he wants to be a comic book artist, but he said he might have to find another job. I told him that he should believe and follow in his dreams because that is the only way they will come true. 

********* 

Monday at school is crazy because it is the last week of school. We have two days until finals and that is us forever for us seniors. Both teachers and students are panicked out about finals, however, everyone is happy about Summer vacation.   
At lunch Pete greets us giddy like he normally is. “I have an announcement! I am having a get-together Thursday after school to celebrate our last day of high school! I am inviting all my close friends, so that means all of you.”   
“Wow Pete. That should be fun,” I say.   
“Yes and yummy too because my mom is making her sliders.”   
“Well count me in! Those things are delicious,” Ray exclaims. 

Now we all have something more to look forward to when school officially ends. Pete is more than excited and is basically skipping down the hall each time he mentions to gathering. 

*********** 

Finals were okay and stressful at times. Everyone was excitedly waiting for school to end, and our group was ready for Pete’s party. 

RING! RING!   
Students whoop and run through the hallways, and I walk to Mikey’s, now old, locker where we decided to meet after the bell. I’m the first one there and I’m guessing everyone else was saying goodbye to their friends before they got here. Since all my friends are going to Pete’s I didn’t have to worry about saying goodbye to anyone. They show up one by one about five minutes into waiting around for them and I am happy it didn’t take that long. Especially since Pete can talk forever, but surprisingly Tyler was the last one here.   
Pete’s house is not a far walk and we get there ten minutes after we leave. His mom greets us at the door with her beautiful smile and arms open to hug everyone. “Snacks are on the table! I’ll call and order pizza at four-thirty until then feel free to eat whatever you’d like and drinks are on the counter.”   
We all head inside after our hug from Mama Wentz, and immediately head to the kitchen for snacks. We joke and mess around throwing some food at one another for a while until there’s a knock on the door.   
“I’ll get it!” Pete yells.   
“Well good because it’s your house and your party,” Mikey teases him and throws a grape at him as he runs to get the door. We all here a “yeah yeah,” and we all lightly laugh.   
“Welcome to my gathering! Please come in. Everyone is in the kitchen.”   
I pour myself a Coca-Cola as Pete welcomes more guests and as they approach the kitchen I hear two familiar voices say “Cool” and “Everyone?” I take a sip of my Coke spit it out when I turn and see Josh and Gerard standing in the opening. I choke and cough on the Coke and Ray comes over to tap my back as support.   
“Wow are you okay Frank?” Pete asks. I give him a thumbs up and then he turns to Gerard saying, “Yes, Gerard. I knew if I told you there were more than three people coming you won’t come.” He grins and laughs at Gerard. Gerard just sticks out his tongue and frowns.   
Everyone starts goofing around I look around and notice no one is paying attention to me except Gerard, so I give him a small wave. He looks around and waves back as well. A few minutes after, Pete claps his hands and then shouts, “Let’s move this party into the living room!”   
We all move into the living room and I stand next to Ray. Mikey grabs Gerard and pulls him over to us. “Gerard needs to meet some people and make friends. So Gerard meet Frank and Ray,” he points to both of us. “Ray and Frank meet Gerard.”   
“Hello Gerard.” I say.   
“Hey man.” Ray greets.   
“Hello.”   
“Okay. Now that you know one another, have fun.”   
Gerard and I awkwardly look at one another and there is a short silence before Ray is the first one to speak. “So Gerard, Mikey says you’re a great artist.”   
“Yeah I guess so. I mean I like to draw and I’m not half bad.” Ray and Gerard talk a little about his art and I nod along slightly pay attention to the conversation. It’s not that what they are saying is boring, it’s just that I am so lost in Gerard’s features and his beauty I can never fully pay attention.   
I jump when Ray says he is going to get something to drink and he will talk to Gerard some more later. Gerard and I look at one another and smile. “So I guess you do exist outside of the cemetery. I was beginning to think you were a ghost. And I didn’t know you would be here.”   
“That would be a lot cooler I have to say. And yeah, Pete is my friend. I thought you weren’t fond of him. So, why are you here?”   
“Even though he annoys me he still thinks he’s my friend and I just go along with it,” he winks at me and I giggle.   
“So now that we’ve seen each other outside of the cemetery what does it mean?”   
“As I said before, it means that you’re not a ghost.”   
“I got that, but I mean are we allowed to hang out more now? Or are we just cemetery friends still?”   
“Normally in this situation I would have to say I would decide after we went to lunch and I saw you eat. But this isn’t a normal situation, and I have already seen you eat. So now I’m just lost.” He has a joking tone in his voice and it warms me to know that he is opening up to me more. Even if that just means his humor.   
“Well how about after I get off work Monday we go out to dinner. Then we will see how this whole friendship outside the cemetery works out.”   
“Okay but we warned, if we go somewhere and I eat spaghetti it will be messy.” We both laugh and Mikey looks over at us with his eyebrows raised, but then he looks away. 

A half-hour after I’m ‘introduced’ to Gerard, Pete decides to play team charades. “Mikey’s my partner! No one else can have him or they can suck a dick!”   
Josh politely states and points outs, “Pete for most people in the room that wouldn’t be a problem.”   
“Okay! But you get my point. He is mine, Dun! Or should I say, Gerard. Find another buddy you can’t have mine!” Pete sticks out his tongue and Gerard just shakes his head.   
“Would you like to be my partner then?”   
“Normally I would partner with Ray, but he might have found another partner, so sure.”   
“Great! This should be interesting.”   
“No doubt.” 

The teams are Gerard and I, Josh and Tyler, Pete and Mikey, and then Ray and Brendon. I don’t really know Brendon to well, but he is good friends with Mikey and Pete. So, no one cheats Pete had his mom write up a bunch of charade papers. She happily obliged and it only took her about ten minutes. Soon after, half of us sat across from our partner on the other side of the room. There was a large opening in the middle of the living room for the person who was acting out. Each team gets forty-five seconds to guess and act out from whatever slip they chose.   
Pete and Mikey go first. Pete acts out the movie Harry Potter and Mikey gets it twenty-five seconds in. Ray and Brendon go next, and Ray acts out Finding Nemo. Brendon didn’t understand Rays arm waving around near his body and the other one farther away, to signify his lucky fin. The timer rings out and they lost this one.   
“Finding Nemo! I mean come on man! His lucky fin!” Ray exclaims unhappily.   
Brendon slaps his forehead and says, “Aw! Sorry man.”   
Josh and Tyler go after them, and Tyler acts out the song, It’s Raining Men. It gets a good laugh out of all of us, especially when Mrs. Wentz passes through the living room to go to the kitchen and sees Tyler acting it out and starts dying of laughter. Josh understands Tyler’s actions with only five seconds left. Next is Gerard and I.   
He signs a film camera, “Movie. Two words.” Then he does t-rex arms and silently shrieks stomping around the floor. “Jurassic Park!”   
“Yes!” He shouts and jumps up and down. He comes over and gives me a high five and then goes back to his seat. 

We play several more turns and Gerard and I end up winning. “It’s not fair,” Ray complains. “I barely know Brendon it wasn’t a fair match up.”   
“Gerard and Frank don’t know one another at all and they _won. _”  
“Okay so maybe my point isn’t as valid as I thought,” Ray shrugs. I go over and sit by Gerard and we talk about how Ray and Pete are currently being sore losers. Pete is sulking on Mikey’s shoulder questioning how they could have lost to Mikey’s brother. Mikey throws Pete off of him and comes over to the both of us. “So. You guys work pretty well together it appears. Maybe you won’t mind coming to some more of our hangouts then Gerard.” He says it as a question, but it comes off a slightly as a demand.   
“If I talk more to Frank and not Pete… maybe. Only maybe no promises though.” Mikey smiles at his brother and I ask Gerard if he really would. “Yeah, I mean, I’m having fun right now, so why not.”   
I smile, “Cool.” Mikey raises his eyebrow at us and goes back to Pete who is still moping around. __

__“Hey, what if we start a movie and I’ll tell my mom to pick up the pizza now!” Everyone agrees and we go get the Wentz collection of pillows and blankets to lay on the floor. Mrs. Wentz heads out the door calling she will be back in a few. “I want to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, any objects?”  
“Which one?” Josh asks.   
“The Johnny Depp version because I need to see his beautiful face.”   
“He is kinda creepy in this movie though.” Tyler states.   
“Beautiful I said!”   
I whisper into Gerard’s ear, “I can’t believe we thought he was straight.” He giggles and we lay down on the pile of pillows and blankets. Pete puts the movie in the DVD player and we get through the opening credits when Mrs. Wentz comes back with the pizza. She sets the pizza down in the kitchen and tells us to come and get it. We all rush into the kitchen to grab a plate and our slice of pizza. I pour Gerard and myself a Coke. We all settle down with our pizzas and Pete starts the movie. _ _

__Gerard and I joke around during the movie. Make fun of the movie characters and Pete, teasing one another, he even tickled my foot at one point. He stopped because he didn’t want to much attention drawn to us, but he still tickled me! Once the movie ends Pete goes into the kitchen and starts cleaning up. We all go to help him except Mikey who calls Gerard away. Not even a few moments later, Mikey comes in the kitchen alone and drags me away into the hallway where Gerard is standing.  
“Okay I don’t know what is going on, but what I do know is my brother.” Mikey looks at Gerard, “I know you are never comfortable with people that you just met,” then he looks at me. “And I know when my brother is lying. _However, _I do not know why he is lying to me. So, Frank what isn’t Gerard telling me?”  
I take a step back confused and look at Gerard. “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. I don’t know what he has told you and hasn’t told you.”   
“You know something though. I don’t know how or what you know, but you know something I don’t. I can read it on Gerard’s face and through his body language.”   
“Would you like to know my secret Mikey?”   
“Yes Gerard I would. I don’t know why Frank gets to know it before I do, and you only just met him.”   
“I only wanted to feel normal. Frank makes me feel normal. Better than normal actually, he makes me feel like I did when Elena was alive.” Mikey looks shocked and his mouth lies agape. “Being at home makes me feel like an outsider, I feel more alone because you guys want to help, but are just making it worse. I’m not a beaten frightened puppy, I’m just sad. So to feel better I go out to the cemetery and visit Elena. That’s where I met Frank. She lead me right to him Mikey. I may have met him eventually yes, but I met him when I needed to. So every day I go and visit Elena to get out of the house and feel a bit normal and I visit Frank at work.”   
Mikey stays silent taking in all the information he just received. “Why didn’t you tell me?”   
“I wanted us to stay something only we knew about.”   
I finally speak up, “So did I. It was very nice while it lasted. It was something special.” I smile and he smiles back at me. Mikey watches us and says, “I knew you guys were way too comfortable around one another, I just couldn’t figure out why? So, how long have you known one another?”   
“I’d say about a month.”   
“Yeah, that seems about right,” I nod.   
“Well then, I guess I don’t see as much as I’d like to have thought.”   
“We all have our off days.” Gerard grabs Mikey and pulls him into and hug and soon after he waves me over and pulls me in as well. We all laugh and head back into the kitchen to help clean up. Mikey doesn’t say anything to anyone and it still feels like our little secret for now.___ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I'm back with an update! I've had quite the week, but I'm glad I could write. Also! I got a new car yay!


	8. Alone Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can only think of the Fall Out Boy song when I say alone together.

It’s Monday! That means Gerard and I are going to hang out outside of Ruhi for the second time, but it’s the first time that we will be alone. I don’t have school today since school ended, so that means I don’t have anything to take my mind off of later today. That means I get to panic all day about what will happen when I go to dinner with Gerard. We never discussed where we would go out for dinner, so I’m slightly nervous about that. What will we talk about? I mean I don’t want to think about things to think about because I want our conversation to come naturally. I don’t want to have to write a script. _Oh my god! _What should I wear? Where are going when I get off work, so I can’t overdress, but I do want to look nice. Not too nice though.__

__I walk out to the kitchen to grab something for breakfast and I see my mom making pancakes. “Hi, sweetie! I got the day off, so I decided to make pancakes!”  
“Thanks Ma.”  
“No problem sweetie. It’s your first official day without going back to school. How does it feel?”  
“I don’t know how to feel yet. I guess that feeling will kick in Wednesday at graduation.”  
“I’m sure it will sweetie. Here’s your pancakes, eat up!”  
“Thanks Ma. I love you.”  
“Love you too, sweetie.”  
Maybe that’s what I can talk to Gerard about. Graduation and what life might be like after. I take a bite of the pancakes and hum into the bite. _ _

__********_ _

__Gerard is late. Well, I guess he isn’t technically late, it’s not like we set a time, and my shift isn’t even over. But he always comes around the same time and he is an hour past that time. Maybe I scared him, maybe we aren’t going to dinner. I wore my nice tight black skinny jeans for nothing then. I sit down on the bench and kick around the dirt. I still have an hour on my shift and Gerard knows that. I had told him what time I work until today.  
Fifteen minutes later Gerard shows up. He is wearing black skinny jeans as well and a black button-up shirt. His hair is combed to the side, which is neater than his normal uncombed usually unwashed look.  
“Hey.”  
“Hey.”  
“I, um, didn’t know what to wear because we never said where we were going. So I figured this is appropriate at most places.”  
“I’d say so, and yeah I was thinking the same things actually.”  
“Yeah Mikey kept making fun of me. He thought I was going on a date because I was panicking on what to wear.”  
“I’m glad my mom didn’t come into my room when I was throwing all of my clothes on my bed to find a shirt.” We both laugh about our situations, and Gerard sits down next to me.  
“So. Where are we going for dinner?”  
Gerard and I figure out where we are going to dinner and then he heads over to his grandma’s grave. He sat there for about a half-hour then I go and get him because my shift has ended. _ _

__Gerard and I end up outside of a local restaurant called Mia’s Place. It serves just about everything, which is one of the reasons we picked it. Neither of us were in the mood for anything in particular, we just wanted to enjoy a meal together. We are seated at a booth and the waitress, Becky, gives us our menus and asks if we know what we want to drink. I order a water and Gerard orders a Coke.  
“I never know if I am supposed to use the waitress’s name when they give it to me. Like is it just part of the job and they have to or is it just a nice thing to do? Like I always just use Miss or something because I feel uncomfortable using their name. Is that just me or?”  
“I mean I get where you’re coming from. I can never remember their name, so I always just use Miss too.” _ _

__We pick what we want to order off the menu and the waitress soon comes over to ask us what we are ordering. We soon pick up a conversation about graduation. He is the one to bring graduation. I am glad to talk about graduation, and I am hoping to get Gerard to talk about the future and what his plan is. He told me before about how he wanted to go to art school, but I’m not sure what else he is thinking about his future._ _

__“I know you are about to graduate in two days, so are you headed off to college right away?”  
“I actually didn’t sign up for any colleges. I wanted to take a year off to see where life leads me. And if that is back to school then I need the money for it. I have been saving up for a few years now, but it’s still not enough to pay off. If I go to a community college I should be pretty okay, but I’m not exactly sure what I want to do.”  
“I completely understand that. I always wanted to go into art, and the more I thought about it getting I guess what you would say ‘a real job’ didn’t sound good to me. Until I find out my art dream is squashed I have no thoughts on going out and getting another ‘real job’. __

____

____

“I quite enjoy working at the cemetery, but doing something I’m pretty passionate about would be amazing. Like I said I’m just not sure what that is. Like I love music, but I don’t see myself going out there and pursuing it. I want to make a life starting off good. I don’t want to be stressed all the time that I can’t afford to eat.”  
“See that’s where we differ. For one I am pursuing art, just like music is an art. It is hard at first, but soon you will get a small following and then it will grow. I don’t expect to be the next Picasso, but I’m doing what I love. Two I already don’t really eat, even when I can afford it, so I’m not afraid of your food problem.”  
“Maybe I should try that then.”  
“Maybe you should.” We smile back and forth. It’s nice to see Gerard so passionate about something. His eyes get big and wide, they almost start to glow. He waves his arms more often, to further explain his point, and his body seems more into the conversation. Him talking about his passions is very interesting to me. Not just because of the topics, but because I am learning more about him. His interests, his passions, his thoughts, his mannerisms, etc. I love learning more about him, so we talk during dinner and way past after we finish, we talk on the way home and sit on my porch reluctant to leave one another. 

__Eventually he does leave and I strip from my clothes and lay in my bed in my boxers. I think about Gerard and I think about the night we had. Maybe it’s not just me that feels the pull, the sudden attraction and the need to be with one another. Gerard is the one person that looks at me the way he does, and I always know that he _actually_ listens to me consistently, he nods along, asks questions, and makes small comments, he makes me feel important._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter, but the next one will be longer because it will be their graduation. :)


	9. Graduation

Today is the day. The day that will send me off for the rest of my life. No more of the comfort of high school because now we must go into the real world. Now I get to make adult decisions and so do the rest of my classmates, and that is a scary thought. It shouldn’t be too bad, I mean everyone has done it. Some people learn from their mistakes and others don’t, I just hope I’m not the latter. 

I get dressed up in a button-down and a nice pair of dress pants. I brush my hair to the side, throwing a little gel in it so it will stay that way, and I put on my best cologne. Sitting next to all of my classmates in a hot area is not going to be pleasant, so I might as well try and smell decent to cover up my odor. I finish up and head to the living room where my mom is sitting waiting on me. 

She looks over and runs over to me, gushing, “Oh, dear. Why don’t you just look so handsome.”  
“Thank you, Ma.”  
She straightens my collar and takes a step back admiring her work. “Are you ready to go, sweetie?” I nod and she says, “Okay let me grab my purse and we will head out to the car where your father is waiting.” She goes out of the room and grabs her purse, she soon comes back and puts her arm through mine, leading us out the door. 

When we get to the parking lot, it is a madhouse. People are running in front of cars, taking pictures in the middle of the parking lot, hugging and greeting one another, and the staff is trying to direct traffic. They would be doing a decent job if it weren’t for parents and students causing issues. We park and head to the field. I say farewell to my parents and they wish me good luck. We separate, I head to the field, and they head to the stands. Teachers direct us where to stand, so we can soon find our seats. Finally, our class is lined up and the music starts. We all walk to our seats and wait for our Principal to tell us when to sit. Our principal starts his small speech and our Class President and Valedictorian wait nervously to give their speeches. 

The speeches sound like I expected, we will do great, we will remember our time, and have a nice life. That basically sums it up. I was ready to leave and go to dinner about halfway through, and now I’m just excited to flip our tassels. They call out name after name and my row stands up to receive our diplomas. I look at the stands in hopes to see my parents, but with quick glances, I don’t find them until I’m standing at the edge of the stage. They call my name and I walk across the stage, shaking hands and receive my diploma. I walk around and back to my seat, excited to see my family. 

Everyone is given their diplomas and we are told to flip our tassels. We are dismissed and everyone rushes to their families. 

I walk around looking for family and friends and friends family. I am soon tapped on the shoulder and with the crowd and adrenaline, I didn’t really think much of it.  
“Hey, hey Frank!” I turn around and see Gerard, who I am slightly shocked to see. Much calmer he says, “Hey Frank, you looked quite handsome walking across the stage.”  
I blush and it reaches my ears which are thankfully covered by my hair. “Thank you, Gerard. I don’t know why I was a little shocked to see you here today. I guess I forgot you would be here for Mikey.”  
“I guess so. I’m glad that you are graduating with him, so I could watch and support you on one of your big days.”  
“Sometimes I don’t understand why graduation is such a big day. Like you are literally forced to go to school now. I mean I understand it takes some longer than others, and it also sends you into adulthood, but still.”  
“I guess it does seem kind of silly, but it is still a very important day. Just maybe it doesn’t mean quite as much as it once did. Hey, so are you going anywhere after this?”  
“I think my parents and I were going to go out somewhere, that’s about it.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see my parents running towards me.  
“Oh cool. I mean if you wanted-“  
“Frankie!” My mom runs up giving me a hug and a big kiss on my cheek. “Oh, I’m so proud of you! You looked so handsome up there!”  
“Thank you, Ma.”  
“Congrats son. “  
“Thanks Dad. Oh! Guys this is Gerard, Gerard these are my parents, Linda and Frank.”  
“Nice to meet you, Gerard.”  
“Yeah, you as well. It’s nice to meet the parents of this weird kid.” He gives me a light tap on the arm.  
“Right…” Mom seems slightly uncomfortable, but her emotions from graduation take over. “So Hunny, where do you want to go for dinner?”  
Gerard cuts in before I say anything “Oh, I was just about to invite you out to dinner with my family and Pete’s family. I mean… as long as you want to go. I’m not like saying you have to.”  
“Actually that sounds really fun! Is it okay if we go with them?” I look at my parents and they look at one another speaking to one another through their minds and facial expressions.  
“That’s fine with us, but let me make sure it’s okay with Donna.”  
“Great!” 

Mikey and Pete are with their families and everyone is chatting enthusiastically. When Mrs. Way sees us she comes over saying, “Oh, Gerard there you are! Are you ready to leave?”  
“Yes, it’s still okay if Frank’s family comes along too right?”  
“Why yes of course!” She looks at my parents, “We have enough room for more at our table. Please join us!”  
“Thank you for the invite, we would love to join you.”  
I join the group and Mikey gives me a wink. Knowing Mikey, he has probably been planning this all along. Gerard was probably just bait, not that I mind though. We start heading to our cars and Mrs. Way tells my mom where to meet them. When we get there it’s not actually that busy and there is a huge long table lined up in the middle of the restaurant where we are seated. 

I sit next to my father and Gerard, and his family sits across from us, so Mikey and Pete can sit next to each other. I’m glad Gerard is here because if he wasn’t I’m not sure who I would have talked to. The adults always have their own conversation and trying to understand Mikey and Pete’s own secret language would have me very lost.  
“So Frank does it feel like you thought it would? Graduating and all?”  
“Um. Ask me in a few days when I don’t have to wake up at six am every morning.” We both kinda laugh.  
“I’m, uh, thinking about getting a job, so I can save up for art school. It seems like a good idea. Hopefully, I’ll have enough money to eat for a while.”  
“Yeah, that was kinda my idea for a college. But I’m excited to see what you can do in art school. I cannot wait for your possibilities.”  
“Well I can’t wait to see yours either.” We spend a significant amount of time just gazing into one another's eyes, taking each other in, and grinning like idiots. We only stop when we are surprised by the waitress trying to get our attention to get our drinks. Embarrassed we both quietly tell her what we would like, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Pete and Mikey giggling and laughing like school girls. 

Gerard and I choose to try and ignore the other two for the rest of the dinner. It’s actually a nice time. Our parents ask us all what we plan on doing, where do we hope to end up because you never really know what will happen. Mikey asks his parents if they can have everyone over to spend the night. Everyone’s parents are okay with it and Mikey texts Ray and Tyler to come over as well. Ray says he’s coming, but Tyler can’t because he already had plans with Josh.  
Ray texts me teasing me because he is jealous I got to go to dinner with everyone and he never got an invite. I know he was just messing around though because he already had previous plans with his family. 

When we are getting ready to leave I say goodbye to my parents and then Mikey runs up to me. “I knew you would come to dinner with us.”  
“Oh, really? How?”  
“I just knew.” 

**Mikey’s Scheme**

Gerard comes home after a late-night with Frank. It was amazing they sat and talked for hours. Gerard could get lost in Frank’s eyes... Uh, stories. He heads to his room where Mikey is sitting on the bed reading a comic book. “What are you doing to my room?”  
Mikey ignores the question and sets down his comic book. “How was your date with Frank?”  
Gerard coughs out, “It wasn’t a date.”  
“Whatever you say, big bro. But you wish it was a date right?”  
“So what if I did, I had a great time.”  
“Alone with Frank, which… makes it a date.” Mikey grins and Gerard takes off his shoe and throws it at him. “Anyways,” he drags out. “We graduate in a couple of days and Pete’s family and ours are going out. I was thinking we should invite Frank too.”  
“Why?”  
“Uhh, because he’s graduating too. Plus you guys can hang out together more.”  
“I’m not sure I want you planning Frank and I’s relationship.”  
“What relationship? You haven’t even been on a date.”  
Gerard gasps and chases his brother around the room. Finally, Mikey calls out, “You should be the one to ask him to come.” They stop running around. Panting Gerard asks why, and Mikey’s reply is simple, yet also complicated. “Because if you ask him he will actually come.” With that, he walks out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make this chapter longer, but I liked where this ended... sooooo late-night grad party coming next chapter!


	10. The Boys

We get to the house and Mikey and Pete immediately run to Mikey’s room. I stick back with Gerard and we plop down on the couch and wait for Ray. We turn on the TV at a low volume for background noise and chat about dinner. Mostly about what each other had said to our parents and Mikey and Pete’s teasing. We avoided the topic of why they were teasing us although. I’m starting to think maybe Gerard likes me a fraction of the way I like him. I’m not for sure how that can be true, he is perfect, what would he want with someone like me? Even if he does like me, it will never come close to the way I feel about him. I don’t care about that though, just the thought of him being into me is enough to excite me. 

Ray walks in not long after our conversation, and we head back to Mikey’s room. Mikey and Pete are shouting at their video game, saying something about zombies and die. Ray walks in and tackles Mikey.   
“Hey! Get off! W- why?” He throws Ray off. “Great now I’m dead! Why would you do that?”   
“Because I felt like it and I could. Plus I wanna play too.” Ray grins and pops a squat next to Mikey. Pete finishes the round and sticks his tongue out at Mikey saying he knew he would win. 

The rest of the time consists of Mikey, Ray, and Pete shouting at their game and one another until Gerard gets tired of watching them and asks me if I wanna go watch a movie. I say yes and then Mikey says something about how they shouldn’t leave his room then. Gerard and I leave and Pete yells, “Have fun Netflix and Chilling!” Not long after we hear, “What do you mean people don’t say that really anymore.”   
The one thing I love about this group of friends is that every time we hang out we don’t need to have alcohol to have fun. Yes, we occasionally sneak a few bottles and mess around, but most of the time we are just sober and acting stupid. It’s amazing how many groups in high school believe they have to drink to be popular or have a good time. We don’t really care about any of that. 

Once we enter Gerard’s room he says, “Sorry I couldn’t stand their yelling anymore.”   
“Fine with me. What do you wanna watch?”   
“You can look through my movies if you’d like, we don’t even have to watch a movie either. I just suggested that as an escape option.”   
“Ah I see. Well, I rather at least look like we are watching a movie, in case they walk in and think we are doing something… else.”   
“Alrighty then, like I said pick one from over there.”   
I look through his movies finding several great ones and a few I haven’t seen. “Okay, I know it’s June, but can we watch the Grinch? I really wanna watch it.”   
He shrugs, “I mean if that’s what you wanna watch pop it in.”   
“Yay!” I squeak, hopping over his TV and opening the case. I put the movie in the DVD player, and grab the remote. I jump onto Gerard’s bed landing next to him. It should have gone much smoother, but I am clumsy and my arm gives out on the land, and my face ends up in Gerard’s stomach. “Oops! I’m so sorry!”   
“It’s alright. Just maybe don’t jump on the next time.”   
“No promises.” Gerard and I both lean back against the headboard while the movie starts. We don’t lay down and get comfortable until Cindy Lou Who is being unwrapped by her father. Throughout the movie, I’m not too sure, but I can feel Gerard getting closer to me. I’m not sure if he is doing it on purpose, but I’m fine with it. Slowly every few minutes I adjust and end up closer to him. At some point, one of us adjusts and we end up touching, our bodies slightly lined up against one another. We lay there comfortably for the rest of the movie.   
The movie ends and neither of us bothers getting up. We lay there staring and the credits, taking small glances at one another.   
“Hey Frank?”   
“Yes Gerard?”   
“I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner with me tomorrow?”   
I look at him smiling, “Of course I would love to.”   
“I hope this doesn’t make anything awkward. Because I hope I wasn’t reading anything wrong. If I am then wow... “ He trails on, so I touch his arm to stop him. I gaze hopefully at him. “Would you like to make our dinner a date?”   
“That would be awesome.” I lean over and give him a big hug. It’s kind of awkward because we are both laying down, but it is still amazing. I’m so excited! He asked me out! Oh my god, but that means this is a real date! What am I going to wear? “Where do you wanna go for dinner?”   
“Somewhere not too fancy, but somewhere decent. I, um, will probably wear jeans and a nicer shirt. If that helps any.”   
“You have no idea how much it does.” I grin. 

************ 

I wake up in the morning cuddled next to Gerard. Oh my! I’m cuddled into Gerard! Panic time. NO! I can’t panic. I don’t want to wake him. I do have to move and get out because I woke up because of the urge to pee. Morning pee’s… get me every time. I slowly wiggle myself free, almost falling off the bed in the act. I get up and relieve myself, only slightly snooping through Gerard’s bathroom.   
When I walk out of the bathroom Gerard is sitting up rubbing the crust out of his eyes. “Good morning. How’d you sleep?” I ask him as I walk back to the bed.   
“Good morning. I felt like I slept for two days, that’s the best I’ve slept in a good minute.”   
I feel a slight warmth in my cheeks. Thinking maybe he slept better because he was pushed up against my body all night. “Oh, well that’s good.”   
“Well I’m going to brush my teeth because I feel like someone died in my mouth. Excuse me.” He goes into the bathroom and I sit on the bed. I zone out into my thoughts, but it’s not too long until Gerard peaks his head out. “Do you want to brush your teeth? I have an extra toothbrush.”   
“Um, sure. That would be great, thanks.”   
“Anytime Frankie. If you ever need anything let me know,” he winks. “You could ask Mikey too, but he might be picky about whether or not he actually will give it to ya.” I smirk and nod. He’s not lying. Mikey is picky about what he wants to do. Sometimes he won’t care other times there is no way he is going to budge on something. It’s just the Mikey Way way I guess. “What would you like for breakfast? I’m guessing Mikey isn’t up yet.” “Whatever you make is fine.” “Alright then. Pancakes okay?” “Sounds delicious,” I send a smile his way. “Just no orange juice, I can’t drink that after brushing my teeth,” I fake gag. “Yuck.” “Oh Frankie, the only drink I drink in the morning is coffee. Trust me there will not be OJ.” “Alright then. Yay.” Gerard heads to the kitchen and I brush my teeth and clean up whatever mess I made the night before. Trying to be respectful I make Gerard's bed, even though I don’t believe he has ever made his bed before. He doesn’t seem to live the tidy life. I don’t find it as too much of a problem, he still picks up after himself. He wouldn’t be bad to live with. I hope one day I’ll share a house with him. Maybe it’s a bit soon to think about living with him, considering our first date is tonight. But things like that matter when you are deciding to be with someone. I’m so into Gerard though I think he could be one of those bad hoarders, the ones with pokes to the ceilings and they have tiny paths to each room, and I would still want to be with him. He just has that kind of effect on me.   
I join Gerard in the kitchen and see him dancing in front of the coffee pot watching the drips pour out. “So what time should I expect you later?” I ask him.   
He jumps at me suddenly being there, and says, “Oh, um, how about six?”   
“Fine with me. I should probably go home after we eat though. To get ready and do whatever housework I have to do.”   
“Yeah, yeah I get it, do what you need to do,” he replies.   
“I am excited for later though. Have you decided where yet?”   
“No I want it to be somewhere special, so it will be a surprise when I pick you up.”   
“Okay,” I say excitedly. 

*************   
When I get home I freak out about what I’m going to wear. I have plenty of time to figure it out, but with the few house chores I have to complete, do I really? I want to look my absolute best! Maybe I should put on concealer to cover the bags under my eyes. Usually, I put on eyeliner to look badass and sexy, but the bags may make me look a little too dark. Scary looking even.   
I’ll figure it out when the time comes. It’s time to think about how the perfect date with Gerard would go. What is my dream date with Gerard? Maybe it will come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry it's been so long! I had a lot of this written previously but wanted to finish it up. Finally got around to it, yay!


End file.
